TikTok likes to make a “-core” out of everything.
While we’ve seen fashion microtrends cycle in and out of style almost weekly, not too many people talk about the high turnover rate that nail jobs are also facing. This year alone, the trends have turned our fingertips from mermaid-like seashells to rosy Barbie digits in a matter of days—and it’s almost forgettable that black nail polish was huge amongst the stars this past spring. However, the milk bath manicure is one nail job that continues to withstand the test of time. Ahead, we reveal exactly how to achieve the manicure at home and how you can milkify any polish in your current collection with the right tools.
But before getting to the routine (we promise this will be quick), let’s just make sure we’re on the same page. A milk bath manicure is any pastel manicure with a hazy, semi-transparent finish. While you may mistake the milk bath mani as one that has to be super sheer, you can choose a more opaque nail polish with a hazy finish—just make sure it’s not straight pastel.
Stars have worn the trend both on and off the red carpet all year, with Sofia Richie Grainge, Kourtney Kardashian Barker, and Elsa Hosk consistently returning to the manicure. Even Hailey Bieber, the creator of everything glazed, swapped her usual pearlescent manicure for a pink milk bath manicure.
Milk bath manicures come in various shapes and sizes, including the OG creamy white milk bath manicure, the strawberry milk manicure, and the blueberry milk manicure. If you’re a DIY nail queen, buying an entirely new polish can be a bit pricey each time you’d like to dip into a new milk “flavor.” Here are some tricks for milkify-ing any nail polish at home.
Milkifying Pastel Polishes
Creating a milky manicure from opaque pastel nail polish is relatively simple—dilute your nail polish with a clear top coat for a creamy, milky finish. You can start with a 3:1 ratio of top coat to pastel polish and customize the formula in whichever suits your vibe best.
Milkifying Vibrant Polishes
“Vibrant” here doesn’t mean neon, per se—it’s just any color in your collection that isn’t a pastel or sheer polish. If you have a navy, hunter green, or firetruck red you’d like to milkify, you can use a 4:1:1 ratio of top coat, white nail polish, and your preferred vibrant nail polish shade. This formula will create a subtle pastel, semi-sheer polish perfect for any milky mani.
Milkifying Jelly Polishes
Though you may equate a milky manicure with anything sheer, the point of the manicure is to look like milk, which naturally has a transparent pastel finish. You can use a 3:1 ratio of your favorite jelly polish and white nail polish to get the perfect semi-sheer pastel color.